I am offering my students an opportunity to practice reading and writing for fun over the winter break. This is NOT required. It is a CHOICE. Participation is optional and will be recognized and rewarded.

The children will be getting a book called Horrible Harry and the Holidaze. This is a book that should be "Read to" or "Read with" your child. There are 7 chapters so you will have time to read a chapter every couple of days. I think they will enjoy the story AND love snuggling up with you to share it.

You probably know we have been working on main idea and details. We also started writing summary statements or topic sentences with guidance and support. We will begin to expand on this by adding a few detail sentences to support the main idea.

I have created a journal to accompany the book, Horrible Harry and the Holidaze. Participating students will complete an organizer and write a summary sentence of each chapter as a reading response. They may also try to include some details with your support. Discussing each chapter is a great way to solidify their understanding and prepare them to write a response.

Let me know if you are interested in having your child participate in this winter break reading and writing activity.

Many students are unable to participate in reading group discussions. They have one book for the week with an expectation to read it 3 times each night. By the end of the week, children should have read the text about a dozen times. Repeated readings build familiarity with the text which helps improve fluency and comprehension.

After 3 days and 4 nights with a text, several children could not identify key details. Instructionally, I'm concerned about children not being able to do this. As we talked about it, a lot of children acknowledged that they had only read the book on the first night and for many that was only 1 time. The less they interact with the text, the harder it is for them to build comprehension, improve fluency and master the standards being taught.

I need your help to ensure they read a minimum of 20 minutes each night which includes repeated readings of their Baggie Book. Most 1st graders need an adult to help facilitate this as part of a nightly routine.

1st grade is an opportunity to set your child on a path for success in school. This begins by establishing a path built on scholarly habits that will guide them through the learning years and indeed life. Everything we do now will have an impact for years to come and is a sound investment in their future.

Thank you for all you do. Remember YOU are your child's 1st and most important teacher!

We have been working on identifying the main idea and key details in nonfiction text. At first glance it seems pretty straight-forward; but if you dig a little deeper, the concept can be fairly complex. Below is a video message addressing this as well as our continued work on a Social Contract.

We will be having a holiday gift exchange before the winter break. Since children love to read books so much, it would be nice if each child brought a NEW book wrapped in holiday paper and labeled:

To: 1st Grade FriendFrom: ______________ (write their name)Books can be purchased at any supermarket or discount store for only a few dollars. There are also inexpensive books on the Scholastic Book Orders.

Scholastic guarantees delivery before break for orders placed by Dec 12. I would like to submit this order no later than Dec 11. Let me know if you are interested in ordering for the Book Exchange. You may use this link to place an order. Place an OrderYou will need our class activation code:HTK43

Please do NOT spend more than $5.00 for a book. Remember it could go to a boy OR a girl, so choose something any 1st grader is sure to enjoy.

We will exchange books on Thursday, December 18th. Participation is optional, but you must bring a book to get a book.

Midyear Assessment Day is a wrap, but assessments will continue through the week. Even with a class 93% attendance rate, there are always a few random things to wrap up. The number of children per session is limited because we work one on one with each child. Thank you for helping get your children to school today! They were all rested and ready to do their best.

Overall, it was a great day and the children are showing improvement. Please make sure your child reads nightly for at least 20 minutes. I can't stress this enough. There are many possibilities:

Baggie Book- There is one book for the week. It should be read 2-3 times each night. Check the card in the bag to see what other focus there might be while working with the book.

Library books- They should have two checked out and one must be a Reading Counts book (﻿﻿blue do﻿t ﻿on the spine). You may read to or with your children depending on the book. Your child may be able to read some of them to you. Focus on comprehension. Take time to talk about the book. Reading Counts books have a quiz and children take them at school. We expect children to read these books at least 3 times. It is common for children not to pass the quiz after a single read. Students earn points for passing quizzes and they have an opportunity to earn the quarterly Mystery Reward based on these points.

There were some errors in the format of the form that I had to correct. If you already accessed the form to sign up, you will need to again so that I know who you/your child are. Thank you. I apologize for the inconvenience.